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You know it is a very good day to wake up to this kind of a review on Austenprose.com.

12 January 2013 by Jeffrey

For 200 years, I suspect many enthralled readers of Pride and Prejudice have silently pondered the question “What would Darcy do?” Author Maria Grace endeavors to put her own spin on this with her debut prequel novella Darcy’s Decision, in her Given Good Principles trilogy…

With admirable originality the author has created a morality drama with Biblical undertones stressing mercy, forgiveness, and what makes a man truly great. She showcases the familiar well-loved characters of Pride and Prejudice quite accurately: Darcy, Wickham, Richard Fitzwilliam, the Bingleys, Mrs. Reynolds, as well as introducing her own cast of loveable loyal neighbors and old family friends. Chief among these is John Bradley, the vital mentor to both Darcys – father and son. The wise old Clergyman counsels young Darcy and the dialogue is beautiful in its timeless truth…

At scarcely 120 pages, the author still manages to lavish her debut work with historical accuracy, helpful footnotes, and scintillating dialogues. The author’s unique voice is most apparent in her descriptions of facial expressions, posturing, gestures, and mannerisms. A scene where Wickham is bound up and is being interrogated by Darcy and his buddies is so vivid and comical that I was in raptures mentally visualizing the entire episode…

I found Darcy’s Decision richly entertaining with a very plausible variation on “what if?” If Darcy doesn’t wear the mantle of hero yet with you, dear readers, I predict he will once you finish this read. Next stop? The Future Mrs. Darcy, or course!

Book Description

Rushing through the concourse to make her way to the conference stage, Gillian Cornell comes face-to-face with the one man she finds most contemptible of everyone she knows, and suddenly her world tilts. His gaze tells stories she wants desperately to hear. As he undresses her with his eyes, Gillian finds all she can do is stumble through her opening remarks. The all-too-attractive cad challenges both her sensibility and her reputation as a competent sexologist.

Dr. Lucian Damron never allows any woman to capture his interest for long. He uses them to boost his career and for his own pleasures. Yet, Lucian cannot resist Gillian’s stubborn independence, her startling intelligence, and her surprising sensuality. Sinfully handsome, Lucian hides a badly wounded heart and a life of personal rejection.

Thrown together as the medical staff on Second Chances, a new reality show designed to reunite previously married couples, Lucian and Gillian soon pique the interest of the American viewing public, who tune in each week, fascinated by the passionate electricity between them. Thus begins an all-consuming courtship, plagued by potentially relationship-ending secrets and misunderstandings and played out scandalously on a national stage.

Regina’s favorite part

Gillian has been left as the guardian for her adopted Down Syndrome sister Barbara after their parents’ untimely deaths. In the story, Barbara participates in a Special Olympics event, and Gillian asks Lucian to join them. It is the day the Gillian realizes that she loves Lucian Damron. He earns Gillian’s trust by treating Barbara with kindness and respect. Barbara is based on the sister of my childhood friend, Lesley W. As we progressed through elementary, junior high, and high school, I observed Vicky, Lesley’s sister, as if she were part of my family. I celebrated her successes and wept at her defeats. Lesley’s parents have both passed, and she remains Vicky’s guardian. Vicky is in a special group home, but she holds a job and has friends, both male and female, and complains about TV shows, etc., etc. She lives as normal a life as a person of her persuasion can. When I wrote Barbara Cornelll in “Second Chances,” she was Vicky. I used a Downs youth in “A Touch of Cashémere” also, but he is not as well developed as Barbara. It was important to me to demonstrate that not all Down children are “disabled.”